Request for Proposals 2017

July 26, 2017

The third annual Santa Cruz Gives holiday giving campaign is pleased to announce that applications are being accepted for 2017 now through September 4. Nonprofits will be notified of their acceptance status on September 27-29.

In 2016, nearly every applicant was strong, which made the selection process daunting for the Santa Cruz Gives committee. In considering applications, several criteria is applied. SC Gives aims to:

cover as many of the various types of community needs as possible (youth, seniors, food and nutrition, animals, education, the enivronment, arts and culture, families, disabled, housing and homelessness, health and wellness.)

represent diverse projects within those categories (avoid selecting similar projects)

The second campaign in 2016 was a great success, with nearly double the funds raised compared to the first year in 2015. It affirms something the Gives committee knew to be true: Santa Cruz gives. Generous Santa Cruzans understand that every little bit counts when it comes to community support.

The 2016 campaign demonstrated that donors used the website just as hoped: Most of the funds raised came from donors who gave to multiple organizations. Donors used the site to learn about a variety of organizations and went to the shopping cart to click on several projects that inspired them. The website platform makes it easy to give, and has enormous potential to increase overall giving in our community.

Attracting new donors is the lifeblood of a nonprofit, and participating organizations reported a majority of new donors through this new way of raising funds for our county. It is our hope to be able to expand the program by accepting a few more organizations each year.